Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Member's Gallery => Topic started by: ahconway on November 03, 2004, 01:33:46 pm
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Thanks to everyone on the forum who have given me advice about the bits & bobs for the Raven AT I ordered last week. It may be a few more weeks before it arrives, but I've already decided to call it Nevermore, after the raven in one of my favourite poems by Edgar Allan Poe.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
Of course, I thoroughly expect my Nevermore be altogether happier than the one that haunted Poe!
In any case, while waiting for it arrive, I thought I'd post all the bits I decided on in the end (I've only listed the deviations from standard spec, or wherever a choice is involved):
- Raven Adventure Tour with twin plate fork in new Mid Blue Pearl powder coat finish (frame and fork!)
- MK2 comfort bars
- Mavic EX721 ceramic rims
- Panaracer Pasela Tourguard 1.75
- Shimano Deore brakes
- Shimano PD-M324 pelals (SPD on one side, platform on the other)
- S-SUN front and rear lamps
- Cateye Cordless 7 cyclometer
- 2 standard alloy bottle cages
- Brooks B17 saddle (honey)
- Tubus Cosmo rear rack (stainless steel)
- X-lite Enduro bar ends (blue) (I ordered these from Wiggle and had them sent to SJS - I had originally specced the Thorn carbon ones, but they're just a bit too small for me)
I'm having it sent to Bicycle Workshop in Notting Hill for assembly - an excellent shop for repairs - they're quite happy to do this.
Of course I'll post photos of Nevermore when it arrives - in the meantime, here are some shots from my trip to Bridgwater:
http://homepage.mac.com/ahconway/cycling/PhotoAlbum18.html
Andrew
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When mine was delivered I only had to turn the bars and add the pedals. Why does your require assembly other than by SJS?
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Andrew,
You shopping list only has parts for half a bike. ;)
The bottom bracket and crankset took quite a bit of puzzling when I spec’ed my bike, in order to get a straight chainline. Just to get you started, the the Rohlof chainline is 53mm and the BB needs to be 68mm. Make sure you swap out the pre installed (very cheap) Taiwanese bottom bracket which comes with the frame.
I hope you’ll put a picture on the forum, I’m keen to see the blue frame.
Cheers,
Stijn
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Hi all,
Don't want to change the topic but with regards to the last post, can I ask you Stijn -
Myself and girlfriend are waiting on delivery of an EXP and a Raven Tour respectively (Both with Rohloff). Plans of many years touring etc. Are you saying that the chainline will not be straight on these as standard? And that the BB is not of great quality?
Thanks
Mactraveller
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quote:
Originally posted by mactraveller
Hi all,
Don't want to change the topic but with regards to the last post, can I ask you Stijn -
Myself and girlfriend are waiting on delivery of an EXP and a Raven Tour respectively (Both with Rohloff). Plans of many years touring etc. Are you saying that the chainline will not be straight on these as standard? And that the BB is not of great quality?
Thanks
Mactraveller
Hi,
All Raven cycles for some months have been (and will now be) fitted with high quality Shimano UN52/53 bottom brackets.
If the Raven is bought as a complete cycle the chainline will be setup perfectly straight.
Regards
Andrew
sjscycles.com
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quote:
Originally posted by femmcommuter
When mine was delivered I only had to turn the bars and add the pedals. Why does your require assembly other than by SJS?
Good question. I'm sure it isn't a daunting assembly job, but this is also the only way I can ensure someone will be on hand to accept the box when it turns up!
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I purchased a bare raven frame, one of the first to arrive from the Factory. Not having expected to have a BB installed in it, (it was branded: “Racer professional”), I never made a fuss about it, but I suspect the BB in frame was factory installed, since I didn’t believe SJS would fit something of such dubious quality. Mine was probably never taken out of the box at SJS and passed straight on from container to courier.
Anyway, I’m sure that SJS will deliver a high quality assembly with a perfectly straight chainline. But if you purchase a bare frame, like me, you might want to check the BB.
By the way, I'm off for three months, hopefully for a bit of cycling in China as well, so hope to be back on the forum in February.
Enjoy your new bikes,
Cheers,
Stijn
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Just spoke to Ross @ SJS, and it seems that the new Raven frames have arrived! My build is scheduled for Friday 26th November, and ready to ship next week!
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Achonway,
Have Nevermore say Hi to Big Red, though they’re probably well acquainted, having travelled from exotic parts together.
Being built on the same day[:D], though due to working away from home not being despatched for a fortnight[B)].
Should be easy to recognise, big and red (frame and forks) Only slight deviations from the standard spec; straight bars, Deore brakes, silver bottle cages, Brooks B17 and an extravagant Schmidt hub and twin Schmidt lights (I ride in the dark a lot)[:D][:D][:D]
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As my delivery date draws near (next week!), I'm still making changes to the spec.... it's all as I originally posted, with the following changes:
- I upgraded the front hub to the Deore XT (the shop rang me when they were assembling, assuming that I wouldn't want to mate the ceramic rims with the lacklustre standard hub, and I had to agree)
- Instead of the S-Sun rear light, I've gone with the CateyeTL-LD 1000 - it has more LEDs, and it should be mountable on the Tubus rack
I spoke to the proprietress of Bicycle Workshop (http://www.bicycleworkshop.co.uk/) today and arranged for the bike to be delivered to her, and I'll pick up on Thursday or Friday!
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It's here! Remarkable. Picked it up from the Bicycle workshop today.
Great 7-mile ride home, but I'm going to put it through its paces for real tomorrow!
See photos here:
http://homepage.mac.com/ahconway/cycling/PhotoAlbum20.html
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Hi Ahconway,
Nice bike. Very very nice! More picks would be great! Getting very close to ordering two Raven AT's ourselves. What size is the frame? Enjoy putting "Nevermore" through its paces
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picks?? i mean pics of course!
Jitensha
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Ahconway,
The 'nevermore' is indeed a beast of beauty.
Can I ask a bit of a cheeky question?
Would, if I were to purchase one of a similar spec get any change from say £1500 or per chance £2000?
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quote:
Originally posted by Penfold
Ahconway,
The 'nevermore' is indeed a beast of beauty.
Can I ask a bit of a cheeky question?
Would, if I were to purchase one of a similar spec get any change from say £1500 or per chance £2000?
Penfold,
Your question is not so much cheeky but lazy, as I'm sure you could figure out exactly what I spent by adding up the base cost plus the options! [;)]
But to save you the trouble, what I spent was very close to your lower figure. Not bad, considering that I didn't compromise anywhere! A lot of bike for the money, particularly when you realise how easy it is to spend much more than that on factory-built Cannondale/Specialized/Trek.
(The hidden cost, of course, includes the hours I spent scrutinising component specs, posting questions to this forum, and the half-day I spent in Bridgwater - but that was all part of the fun!)
Andrew
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At long last, I had my first ride on Nevermore, my new Raven AT. (Or is it just a Raven Tour as it says on the frame? Still seems mighty adventurous to me...)
From home in North London, I did one of my favourite rides - but one I've never quite had a suitable bike for: the National Cycle Network Route 4. I picked it up at Putney Bridge and followed it west along the Thames to Barnes, through Richmond Park, through Ham, back onto the Thames path to Kingston, across the river and to Hampton Court Palace. A delightful ride at any time - but particularly at the crack of dawn when I started. From home, it's 40 miles return.
I shot some nice photos of the bike and the scenery along the way: http://homepage.mac.com/ahconway/cycling/PhotoAlbum21.html.
So here are my first impressions of the bike:
- More nimble and responsive than I expected, all the more impressive considering its not insubstantial weight
- The comfort bars and bar ends are great; holding the grips is a similar position to holding the tops of drop bars (but more comfortable), and the bar ends are similar to holding the brake levers; the bar ends also allow several good positions
- The Rohloff gears are, pure bliss! Everyone's read about how nice it is to shift at a standstill and all that... but I hadn't anticipated how smooth the changes would be! Practically instantaneous. I found myself shifting much more frequently than usual, even on reasonably flat terrain. My only trouble is getting used to the direction of the twist-shift, which is to from the SRAM shifter I have on my commuter bike.
- The Brooks saddle was - even brand new - the most comfortable saddle I've ridden! I was wearing padded shorts and Gore-Tex over-trousers, which makes it a friction-free experience. I've ridden with all sorts of Italian racing saddles, and for some reason, this one tops them all.
- The pedals also take a bit of getting used to with SPD on one side and platforms on the other. I finally worked out that when you bring a pedal to the top, the cleated side goes down, and it's easy to work out from there, even without looking.
- The Panaracer tyres did a great job on high-speed (okay, just 32mph that day) twisty-turny descents, and they were also nice and grippy on unpaved towpaths and grassy bits.
- I haven't yet done any really steep hills, but I don't anticipate them being a problem; it rides well out of the saddle, and it's easy to throw around, even with just one loaded pannier.
- The gearing seems to be just about right, if not a little low; I spent most of my time in the 6-12 range, only going up to 13 or 14 when pedalling downhill. I never actually made into 1-5, but I'm sure I will do when loaded and on real hills.
- What else? It's incredibly well balanced; I had no trouble going no-handed, even over rough terrain.
That's about it for now... I'm just looking forward to my next ride!
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quote:
Originally posted by ahconway
quote:
Originally posted by Penfold
Ahconway,
The 'nevermore' is indeed a beast of beauty.
Can I ask a bit of a cheeky question?
Would, if I were to purchase one of a similar spec get any change from say £1500 or per chance £2000?
Penfold,
Your question is not so much cheeky but lazy, as I'm sure you could figure out exactly what I spent by adding up the base cost plus the options! [;)]
Andrew
Andrew,
Well you got me sussed out straight away [:D]
Great pics by the way
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Andrew,
It seems that Nevermore has gone to a good home. Hope you are both very happy together.
Are you going to leave the steerer tube overlength, or are you still experimenting with handlebar height? I have seen a few left long with a couple of spacers above the handlebar stem and I wondered if there is a reason for not cutting the tube shorter.
Thanks for the great photos. Sprocket
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quote:
Originally posted by Sprocket
Andrew,
It seems that Nevermore has gone to a good home. Hope you are both very happy together.
Are you going to leave the steerer tube overlength, or are you still experimenting with handlebar height? I have seen a few left long with a couple of spacers above the handlebar stem and I wondered if there is a reason for not cutting the tube shorter.
Thanks for the great photos. Sprocket
I will indeed trim the steerer tube one of these days. And of course, I'll also take the opportunity to replace the spacers and cap with ones that match my blue bar ends!
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Hey PH - How's Big Red treating you? Got any photos?
quote:
Originally posted by PH
Achonway,
Have Nevermore say Hi to Big Red, though they’re probably well acquainted, having travelled from exotic parts together.
Being built on the same day[:D], though due to working away from home not being despatched for a fortnight[B)].
Should be easy to recognise, big and red (frame and forks) Only slight deviations from the standard spec; straight bars, Deore brakes, silver bottle cages, Brooks B17 and an extravagant Schmidt hub and twin Schmidt lights (I ride in the dark a lot)[:D][:D][:D]
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Hi ahconway, Big Red is doing great, thanks for asking and the prompt to get some photos uploaded. How are you getting on with Nevermore?
Just passed the 1,000 mile mark[:D], mostly commuting but also did the Dr Foster 200 k audax from Cardiff, which gave it a good test, passed with flying colours. Saddle is well broken in, changed the stem and played with different positions for the lights. Had to tension the chain once and pleased at how easy it was, likewise removing the rear wheel, easier than on my derailleur bikes. I’ll probably get a set of summer tyres, the 1.75” TG’s are fantastic for the mucky lanes and tracks but I fancy something faster to use in better weather[8D].
All in all I’ve been very impressed with the bike, the hub and the service from SJS.
Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49286797@N00/
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PH- Beautiful cycle you have there. Could I ask for some close up photos of your 2 headlamps and their mounts? I like the setup you have.
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Great photos, Paul!
Your lighting arrangement is really nifty - how did you do it? Can the SON power both front lights on the back ones too?
Glad to hear Big Red fared well on your 200k audax... I'm just attempting my first audax ever, a 100k, in a couple weeks.
Nevermore and I are getting on wonderfully - did 50 miles this morning, including about a half hour in freezing rain and really muddy tracks. (Very glad I brought a cover for my saddle!) I'm only on about 250 miles due to a month of travel and the dreaded flu - but I'm racking up the miles as fast as I can.
I haven't decided on my stem height yet... my position feels perfect, but I do get some pain in my wrists and the balls of my hands, so I need to figure out what to do to avoid that... I'm sure I'll get it sorted, though.
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Hi ahconway and Istanbul Tea
Thanks for the comments, the lights certainly get a lot of attention from other cyclists, even those with high powered rechargeables are impressed. All the bits came from SJS;
The primary light is an E6
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/item7749.htm
Mounted on the fork with
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/7234thornalloyhlampbrackbig.jpg
The secondary is an E6Z
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/8216schmidt.jpg
mounted on the handlebars with
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/9884schmidt.jpg
The E6Z can be switched on at speeds over 10 mph, below that the E6 on its own produces more light. I work nights and commute 150 miles a week so they’ll get plenty of use for most of the year, enough to justify the cost! Originally they were set side by side on the fork crown, I didn’t like the light spread and felt the width made them vulnerable to knocks. The handle bar bracket was a great improvement, they are set with the top light shining further, but with a really useful bright patch where they overlap and of course it’s in an easy position to switch on and off. The clear plastic cowls on Schmidt lights shows the silver of the reflector underneath, a bit too bling for my taste, so I painted them with black model paint. The rear lights are LEDs, a Basta on the rack and a Cateye on the seatpost, both of which I transferred from another bike. It is possible to run a rear light off the SON, just didn’t seem worth the bother as red LEDs are so much brighter and last well on the AA rechargeables I’ve got.
I’ll take some more photos for IT, next time I’m out in daylight.
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PH-
Thanks for the links... looking forward to the photos as well!
:)
-Scott